The present invention relates to a putter, and more specifically to a putter that provides a large golf ball striking surface to inspire confidence in the person putting and that is weighted to impart topspin to the golf ball to help keep the ball on line.
Fifty percent of the strokes in a par score are allotted to putting. No aspect of a golf game is more critical or frustrating. There are many putting techniques and hundreds of designs for putters. However, the single biggest factor remains confidence in making the putting stroke, i.e., confidence that the ball will be struck and that the golf ball will stay on the intended line once struck.
To insure that the surface of the putter will strike the golf ball within what is known as the “sweet spot” on the club face, the width of the ball striking face normal to the putting surface and to the desired line is generally quite large relative to the diameter of the golf ball. This permits some significant movement of the hands in and out during the putting stroke without imparting excessive “cut” or spin on the ball due to striking the golf ball off the centerline of the club.
However, the height of the ball striking face is generally only slightly larger that the diameter of the golf ball apparently on the theory that there is very little up and down movement of the hands during the putting stroke. In most cases, the height of the golf ball striking surface is less than the diameter of a golf ball to insure that the center of gravity (“COG”) of the putter is below the COG of the golf ball.
One example of a putter with a wide but vertically short ball striking surface is shown in the Calabro U.S. Design Pat. No. D444,194 dated Jun. 6, 2001, and examples of short height ball striking surfaces are shown in the Wells Design U.S. Pat. No. D474,821 dated May 20, 2003 and the Ford U.S. Design Pat. No. D437,017 dated Jan. 30, 2001.
Other putters have attempted to insure hitting the golf ball in the sweet spot of the putter by focusing the attention of the golfer on the golf ball during the putting stroke. For example, the Franco U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,424 dated Aug. 6, 2002 shows a generally semicircular golf ball striking surface, i.e., flat on the bottom adjacent the green and curved to be approximately equidistance from the top and sides of the golf ball when the golf ball is addressed.
There have even been a few putters designed to impart topspin on the golf ball. For example, the lower half of the ball striking surface of the putter shown in the Laconte U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,336 dated Jan. 22, 2002 is removed to insure that the only contact of the surface with the golf ball is above the COG of the golf ball.
Still other putters have arced the golf ball striking surface of the putter to conform to the shape of the golf ball, thus providing an overhanging portion that tends to restrict the “hopping” of the golf ball when struck. One such putter is shown in the Fioretti U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,865 dated Feb. 18, 2003. Other putters of this general type are known as “mallet head” or bulbous putters. Such putter designs take mass from the width of the golf ball striking surface and add it behind the surface. One example of such a design is that shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,346 dated Aug. 28, 2001.
No known putter combines the characteristics of the putter of the present invention, preferred embodiments of which are hereinafter described in connection with the attached drawings.